Crates / Compare / which vs signal-hook
Rust crates side by side · data Oct 24, 2026
which vs signal-hook
Short answerBy steady daily use, which is bigger: 817,673 real downloads a day against 704,970 for signal-hook (1.2x). 2,276 crates depend on which and 1,218 on signal-hook. which last shipped 59 days ago, signal-hook 20 days ago.
which
Widely usedWidely used and steady.
2,276 crates depend on it; downloads don't spike on releases.
A Rust equivalent of Unix command "which". Locate installed executable in cross platforms.
signal-hook
Widely usedWidely used and steady.
1,218 crates depend on it; downloads don't spike on releases.
Unix signal handling
whichsignal-hook · 100% = that crate's normal quiet day, so a spike to 300% is triple its usual traffic
Every number, side by side
| Same window, same method | which | signal-hook |
|---|---|---|
| Real downloads a day | 817,673 | 704,970 |
| Crates that depend on it | 2,276 | 1,218 |
| Last release | 8.0.6, 59 days ago | 0.4.5, 20 days ago |
| Trend vs the field | -1% | +0% |
| Release-window share | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Downloads in the window | 75,008,354 | 65,874,011 |
| All-time downloads | 455,476,253 | 272,928,147 |
| Versions published | 44 | 47 |
| License | MIT | MIT OR Apache-2.0 |
| MSRV | 1.70 | 1.66 |
| First published | Oct 6, 2015 | Jun 22, 2018 |
Which to pick
- Downloads tell you what is common, not what fits. Each crate's own description above says what it is for; when the jobs differ, pick by the job.
- When both fit, prefer the one more crates depend on (which, 2,276 dependents): more eyes, more answered questions, and you may already have it in your tree.
- Check the release dates against your own pace: which 59 days ago, signal-hook 20 days ago.
Also in this space
Method
Real downloads = the median day with no release that day or the day before, from the crates.io API (Jul 27, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026). Raw crates.io counts include CI and bots and run high (why); the method is from our 90-day study.
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